The previous franchise record was 134 in a 20-17 overtime loss at Baltimore on Nov. 10, 2013.
The Bengals collected 70 of the 173 penalty yards in the fourth quarter as they blew a 10-point lead.
“Some of those I disagree with — I think everybody does,” said defensive end Chris Smith, who was not penalized. “But we have to not make those. If they are going to call it, we’ve got to find a way to not be in those situations. They hurt us down the stretch. Every game — not just this game, but every game — we have to learn not to beat ourselves.”
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Only three times this year did the Bengals have more than 70 yards in a full game (81 at Tennessee, 77 at Jacksonville, 71 vs. Buffalo).
Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick had 68 penalty yards alone on a pair of pass interference calls — one in the second quarter, onee in the fourth — that led to 10 Pittsburgh points.
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While those were the longest penalties, the biggest was running back Giovani Bernard’s holding call that negated a 61-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton to A.J. Green that would have given the Bengals a 24-10 lead with 7:38 left in the third quarter.
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